Sheriff Paul Babeu: Fast and Furious scandal is far from over

posted at 5:15 pm on February 11, 2012 by Tina Korbe

No Fast and Furious fatigue for Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, who has been on the front lines fighting to tell the truth about the Justice Department’s disastrous program from Day One. The longer the Justice Department stonewalls the congressional investigation into the gunrunning program, the more ardent becomes Babeu’s desire to hold the administration accountable.

“Many of us, including me, feel that whoever made these decisions should be held criminally accountable because people have been murdered,” Babeu told me today. “Our hero in the Border Patrol — Agent Brian Terry — was murdered in my state. Two of the guns that were used to kill him — on the scene — were from Fast and Furious. There’s no accountability; Eric Holder still hasn’t come clean to say who made these decisions and it’s been over a year.”

As tragic as Brian Terry’s death was, it is far from the only casualty associated with Fast and Furious: More than 200 people in Mexico have been killed by drug cartel members with Fast and Furious weapons — and the death count is likely to continue to rise, Babeu said.

“This is a larger scandal than anything like Watergate,” he explained. “Nobody died there. People lied and there was a cover-up. Here, there’s lies and cover-ups and we still don’t have the answers, but people have been killed. Fourteen hundred of these guns are still outstanding; other people will die from actions of Eric Holder and the Department of Justice.”

Those outstanding weapons are untraceable.

“There [are] no tracking devices,” he said. “wWe don’t know who has these weapons now. For years to come, this is going to trickle out; people are going to be killed, crimes are going to be committed. The only way we can confiscate these guns is we raid a drug house and, oh, there’s five guns here and, guess what, they’re connected to Fast and Furious.”

Babeu knows firsthand that Fast and Furious weapons are reappearing in the United States. Three months ago, his agency, along with 21 other law enforcement agencies, busted the Sinaloa drug cartel — the largest bust in Arizona history. In the midst of 76 arrests, the recovery of billions of dollars and the discovery of dozens of weapons, they found two Fast and Furious weapons.

Intentionally arming drug cartels — if that is, in fact, what the Justice Department was doing — does nothing to help U.S.-Mexico relations, Babeu warned.

“We have just armed paramilitary organizations — all these cartels — that are fighting that are at war with Mexico,” he said. “I’m a retired army officer and, in Mexico, for us to do that against a stated ally, that triggers in the Geneva Convention an act of war. This is outrageous. People need to be held accountable for this and we’re getting no answers.”

That the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has no way to trace the weapons lends credence to the theory that the ATF intentionally funneled the firearms to drug cartels as a cover for calls for increased gun control.

“This was one time dismissed as crazy or some wild-eyed right-wing conspiracy that this could be the case,” Babeu said. “There’s no other justification. I’m in the business of clues and evidence; their only defense that they have given is they were tracking these guns and they were going after these big fish. Well, guess what? They weren’t tracking anything. Even in a minor investigation in law enforcement, we’re tracking drugs, we never let it out of our line of sight. We track with surveillance; we have people trail them; we have CIs, criminal informants, that give us information, then we effect an arrest. These are guns. How could anybody in their wildest imagination ever believe that this would end well? It hasn’t — and the end isn’t even here.”

The end might not be here — but the beginning of something else could be. Babeu has cast his lot in the congressional race to represent Arizona’s newly-created fourth district, and he’s presently out-fundraising his competitors and polling well. If he is elected to Congress, he said, Fast and Furious won’t be his only target.

“I will be a part of a chorus of conservatives but one of the strongest voices, not only on these issues, but as a free market guy,” he said. “We’re very rapidly evolving into one of these failed European states. I shall not allow that to be the future of America.”

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That the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has no way to trace the weapons lends credence to the theory that the ATF intentionally funneled the firearms to drug cartels as a cover for calls for increased gun control.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find out eventually that Obama’s campaign is being given money from the cartels.

Probably Rahm’s coffers are enriched that way as well. Get the guns away from the citizens so that the cartel’s “army” doesn’t face any serious armed opposition on the streets of the US, starting in Chicago.

I think it is pretty obvious that this administration decided to arm the Sinaloa Cartel in an effort to weaken the Zetas. Beyond this there has been some evidence that the Sinaloas were also given liberty to traffic to the U.S. in exchange for their help – we have heard as much from some cartel members. If the complete picture of this scandal were ever to emerge it would make Iran/Contra look like peanuts by comparison.

Imagine the scene as an episode of Perry Mason, the climax of which has Mr. Mason hammering away at Attorney General Holder only to turn on his heels at the last moment, point a finger into the crowd and proclaim:

<strong>It was you President Obama, wasn’t it, who dreamed up this entire scheme? It was you President Obama who set the wheels in motion that led to the murder of Agent Terry, wasn’t it?

This scandal has all the earmarks of a giant cover up. Why in the world would the Attorney General of the United States place himself in the crosshairs of potential prosecution for a underling? He would not.

My County Sheriff! Doing great work out here as Pinal County Sheriff fighting against drug smuggling and illegally crossing the border. As opposed to that idiot who spoke out after the Tuscon shootings.

This would be such a great video to share elsewhere except for the awful background noise. It makes for unprofessional–and in a subliminal way, less credible–journalism.
Please, next time set up your HotAir/Townhall wall in a quieter place.

The folks who started this under Boooosh need to step forward and get into the MSMs face saying, “We started this and look what Obama did with it!”

Whatever it takes to make this scandal front page news.

Roy Rogers on February 11, 2012 at 5:45 PM

It’ll never ever happen-after all, the Democrats control the National News Media, so can dictate what is “reported” to the Masses (us) and what is kept from us.

A prime example is this story from a couple of weeks ago-the Democrats in the House “prepared” their own Minority Report on their Parallel-Universe “interpretation” of what really happened in this Fake Scandal. They then had their O’bama Kneepads and Fluffers in their Democrat Media put their propaganda out.

Happy to comply was the always-Democrat McLatchy “News” Service, which ran this steaming heap from the (and no, I am not making this up) Cronkite News Service

Report: Officials allowed ‘gun-walking’ for years in Arizona

-snip-

The report – prepared by Democrats on a House committee investigating the operations – also claimed to put to rest theories that the operations were ordered from the highest levels of the Justice Department. It said the fault rests with federal officials in Arizona.

“This report debunks many unsubstantiated conspiracy theories,” wrote Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking minority member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

He said the report found “no evidence that Operation Fast and Furious was a politically motivated operation conceived and directed by high-level Obama administration political appointees at the Department of Justice.” Republicans quickly attacked the report as a political document meant to divert scrutiny from Attorney General Eric Holder, who is set to testify Thursday before the committee about Fast and Furious.

“This is outrageous that the minority staff would put out something this inappropriate,” said Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who serves on the committee.

-snip-

Gosar questioned comparing Operation Fast and Furious to the ATF’s other investigations.

“Show me the gun that killed someone from Operation Wide Receiver,” Gosar said, in reference to the 2010 killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near the border, where two guns linked to Fast and Furious were found. “This is apples versus oranges. These are not the same.”

Echoing other Republicans, Gosar said Holder has lied in previous hearings about his knowledge of Fast and Furious, and that “Arizonans and Mexicans were used as collateral damage” during the botched operation.

But committee Democrats were just as quick Tuesday to accuse Republicans of playing politics with their aggressive inquiry into the Justice Department’s handling of Fast and Furious.

“There is a real threat on our Southern border, and while the Republicans are dithering on a narrow political agenda, people are dying,” said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., who also serves on the government reform committee. “The Republican majority led by (committee chair) Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and his staff have blocked efforts to call any former Bush officials to testify about what they did.”

Watergate had more media coverage than the JFK assassination and funeral.JFK’s was to bury a dead president while Watergate was to kill a president and his party.Most of the country thinks Fast&Furious is another reality show.

My County Sheriff! Doing great work out here as Pinal County Sheriff fighting against drug smuggling and illegally crossing the border. As opposed to that idiot who spoke out after the Tuscon shootings.

Mr_Magoo on February 11, 2012 at 6:12 PM

That would be the idiot Sheriff Dupnik. I am not aware if there has been an investigation yet as to why he ignored complaints about Loughner and his odd behavior. My theory is that Loughner was given a pass because his mother is a county employee.

American weapons that are destined to be sold or given away to criminals or foreign countries that might become enemies in the future should have built-in self-destruct mechanisms that the American military or law enforcement could trigger.

So does anybody else, when contemplating the whole Fast and Furious mess, remember back to how the Dems treated Alberto Gonzales for…allegedly being involved in allegedly improper firings of U.S. Attorneys?

“This is a larger scandal than anything like Watergate,” he explained. “Nobody died there. People lied and there was a cover-up. Here, there’s lies and cover-ups and we still don’t have the answers, but people have been killed. Fourteen hundred of these guns are still outstanding; other people will die from actions of Eric Holder and the Department of Justice.” – Sheriff Babeau

As others I’m sure have already noted, Holder, Nappy Janet, Slappy, et al. tried to backdoor this fustercluck as an excuse for tighter gun controls.
Sure.
Tell it to the families of all the dead Mess’kans, I’m sure they’ll understand. /sarc
Comprende? The government south of us sure didn’t know.

It’s the contempt Holder shows to anyone calling him on his racist DOJ, the media’s refusal to hold ANY democrat to account, and Obama’s smirking propagandizing on the oh so generously helpful MSM, that enfuriates..

Even if we took the Senate, and presidency, and launched full investigations resulting in Holder doing the perp walk,.. then extradited him to Mexico to face criminal charges, like manslaughter, if not murder..

The MSM would ignore it, smother it, and if they mentioned it at all.. would paint it as a racist witch hunt, with the saintly Holder always in a halo shot…

I’m hating the MSM, like I hated the Soviets, a slimy cabal of socialists, communists and criminals Hell bent on making this country into the USSR, which they always had great respect for..

I mean, they had universal healthcare and everything…/s

-

Decent people wept for the glory of freedom won as the East German’s tore down the Soviet wall, the MSM, and academic left wept too…

they wept for the rage they felt, that America had won,.. and communism failed so utterly.

Obama is their vengence.. they’ll lie, cheat, steal.. anything to advance the socialist cause.. and if a few hundred Mexicans and Americans die for that… eh,,.. they, get over it..

I’d be demanding Holder in cuffs to face a Mexican jury… I’m sure they’ll sympathize with his liberation leftism,… his get da man politics.

I’d hate the precedent of doing it, but Holder deserves it, if any American ever did.

mark81150 on February 12, 2012 at 8:57 AM

Once upon a time, I had a couple of occasions to accept Americans back to the U.S. under the “prisoner exchange program”. The horrors of Mess’kan jails and prisons are beyond the ken of most Americans.
IOW: The perfect place for King Barack and his cronies.

Why Mexico has not issued arrest warrants for those agents whose testimony clearly proves they allowed guns to walk into Mexico is beyond my limited intelligence.

Has a deal been reached between Obama and the President of Mexico? After all, the Mexican President did visit the White House a few months ago. Was an agreement reached? My limited intelligence says an agreement was reached.

If we could get those Arizona agents extradicted to Mexico to stand trial, I wager that the truth will come out faster than Obama can lie.

Please, let me see no more calls for impeachment. This senate will not even vote for a budget and if you think they will vote to convict anyone in this administration, you are delusional enough to be a democrat. Yes, i realize that calling anyone a democrat is using harsh and vulgar language but it is technically not a profanity.

It is interesting, that only a few short months before F&F hit the fan, our Secretary of State Clinton was expressing her deep concern about all of these US guns going across the border into Mexico. Now, since she is a committed progressive by her own admission, it does beg the question of whether she knew this was a US operation (and bought into the tactic of using it for more gun control), or was she being played for a fool by other members of the administration.

I doubt we’ll know until someone on the inside rolls over on his/her masters. There really is no reason for believing that this is anything but a bunch of morons that got in way over their heads while trying to set some sort of nefarious policy.

It is interesting, that only a few short months before F&F hit the fan, our Secretary of State Clinton was expressing her deep concern about all of these US guns going across the border into Mexico. Now, since she is a committed progressive by her own admission, it does beg the question of whether she knew this was a US operation (and bought into the tactic of using it for more gun control), or was she being played for a fool by other members of the administration.

That she and others were on talking points around the same time, then clammed up is anything but coincidental.

So, all these guns walked over the border. Into whose hands? IIRC, for most part, into the hands of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Gee, the same cartel that had/has a cozy relationship with the FBI and cross border law enforcement; they pass Intel about competitors activities for ‘considerations.’ It’s a coincidence that they received these weapons?Really?Reeeelly?

These cartels own many Mexican cops and politicians – Plata O Plomo… So, I hate to think it, but is it so hard to believe that they haven’t made ‘contributions’ northwards? The cartels are beyond wealthy.